Portable flashlights and separate flashlight holders are well known and useful devices. In performing work outdoors or engaging in leisure activities at night, an artificial light source is frequently required. For example, in performing car repair at night it is often necessary to either suspend an electric lantern above the engine compartment, strategically rest a flashlight on the fender, or ask an assistant to hold the flashlight to facilitate the illumination of the area of the motor under repair. In another example, when changing a tire on the shoulder of a dark road, it may be necessary to support the flashlight to direct its beam of light at the wheel being removed and replaced. In the event of emergency repairs being done after darkness due to an earthquake or extreme weather conditions, such as attending to a broken pipe or a severed line, again it may be necessary to support a flashlight to direct its beam of light at the area being repaired. Additionally, in leisure activities such as camping, it is often desirable to read at night in which case the flashlight must be supported so that the beam shines upon the book pages.
The most common type of portable flashlight now in general use is one having a large cylindrical canister for the in-line storage of four D-cell batteries, a spring contact and switch, and a screw-on threaded cap containing an electric contact, the light bulb, and lens. Such conventional flashlights are bulky, and typically do not produce well-collimated light.
Conventional separate flashlight holders are even more large and cumbersome. Such flashlight holders typically include a C-shaped clamp that holds the flashlight. The clamp is attached to the flashlight by an arm that may swivel and/or rotate, the arm being further attached to a tripod support which may have adjustable legs. Obviously, such a flashlight holder is not portable together with the flashlight.
To improve over the prior art, it is desirable to provide a portable flashlight also incorporating an articulating stand which, when deployed, is capable of supporting the flashlight at a desired angle for work situations or for leisure in which additional light directed at a particular area is needed. Additionally, it is desirable to provide a compact flashlight which produces a powerful, well-collimated beam of light. Also, it is desirable to provide a flashlight having components which are easily assembled for inexpensive manufacturing, and it is desirable to provide a flashlight having an electrical system that is accessible for maintenance and repair. The proposed improvements, to Applicant's knowledge, have heretofore never been addressed.